Terror struck Pakistan again when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the small tribal village of Yakaghund in the Mohmand region in AfPak border. The bomber struck at the office of a local administration, where a lot of people had gathered. Two explosions took place, killing over 45. Official estimates have put the number of injured at 40 but it is feared that it may well rise to 80. Over 40 severely injured people were taken to a state-run hospital in Peshawar, while others are being treated in a local hospital. Witness said that most of shops in the vicinity were destroyed by this explosion. The victims include women and children too and many are feared to be still trapped in the debris. The blast also damaged the walls of a prison located nearby and apparently, several inmates have escaped, a security official said.
The attack follows weeks after NATO forces have stepped up the offensive on the Taliban militants in this province, widely believed to be a stronghold of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban. The region has witnessed a lot of bloodshed over the past three years. Thousands of people have died in these clashes between the Pakistan Army and these Taliban militants. Last year, a Pakistan Army launched a successful offensive against the militants out of the Swat Valley, following which it purged them out of South Waziristan, an erstwhile Taliban bastion. The militants fled to Orakzai province and to Mohmand soon after this operation.
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